Arizona State Treasurer Doug Ducey dropped a money bomb yesterday announcing he had raised a whopping $1,050,000 in his exploratory bid for Governor. His campaign announced that he will report more than $900,000 cash on hand – showing a remarkably low burn rate.

Even more impressive is that the majority of the funds were raised under the lower contribution limits. Ducey’s campaign reported that 80% of the roughly 1,000 donors gave less than $1,000. If only half of those folks gave again to meet the new max contribution, that would garner Ducey another $1.2 million.

The depth and breadth of Ducey’s support is stunning and bound to send shivers down the spines of any potential opponents.

This will certainly throw a wrench in the thinking of Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, who has been coy about his plans. Rather than announcing that he is running, as he is expected to do in the next few days, look for him to announce an exploratory committee so he can continue to “think about it.” Sometime this spring, he will officially bow out. This will be his face-saving way of avoiding the buzzsaw that would be the Ducey campaign.

As for other potential opponents, Secretary of State of Ken Bennett, who has had an exploratory committee for the better part of a year, likely doesn’t even have 1,000 five-dollar contributions to count towards his receiving Clean Elections money. Christine Jones is expected to spend a lot of her own money, but money is only one part of the equation that makes a good candidate (exhibit 1: Jim Pedersen, Buzz Mills, Wil Cardon, and John Hurlburd).

Ducey is what we in the political hackery business call “the complete package.” He is a successful businessman, established leader, smart as a whip, willing to work his tail off, and has great people skills. He is a dream candidate and someone who will make a superb Governor for our great state.

*For the record, Doug Ducey is not a client of mine or my firm, nor do I play any role in his campaign for Governor.